1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high density electrical connector for electrically connecting an exterior mating connector to a circuit board, and particularly to an electrical connector with a plurality of high density contacts which is quickly and precisely inserted into a plurality of apertures defined on a circuit board by means of gradual guidance.
2. The Prior Art
To increase the transmission speed of input/output messages between electrical connectors in electrical apparatus like computer systems, high density electrical connectors, which have a plurality of contacts in a high density arrangement, are proposed. However, the high density arrangement of the contacts results in a very small pitch between adjacent contacts. Therefore, such high density electrical connectors are usually equipped with a spacer to orient the contacts thereby preventing them from coming too close to each other and assuring that the contacts are precisely inserted into the associated apertures formed on a circuit board. To further assure that the contacts are correctly inserted as mentioned above, guiding posts are often utilized with the connector to retentively cooperate with the orienting holes formed on the circuit board.
Although some conventional high density electrical connectors as disclosed in Taiwan Patent Application Nos. 83,217,760, 83,216,747 and 83,217,761, are assembled with a space to orient a plurality of contacts thereof, one portion of each contact extending through the space is long enough to cause difficulty to exactly insert the contacts into the corresponding apertures of the circuit board, which may result in the buckling of the contacts.
Accordingly, to resolve the above disadvantages, an object of the present invention is to provide a high density electrical connector with a pair of two-stage locking means to cooperate with a spacer to gradually orient and guide a plurality of contacts to be precisely inserted into the corresponding apertures defined on a circuit board. The two-stage means includes a first stage for allowing a tail portion of each contact to extend through the space in a tip area thereof to be oriented and correctly aligned with the apertures of the circuit board, and a second stage for allowing the tail portion to be further inserted through the spacer in a longer length thereof.